Our little group of 4 spent a very pleasant 5 nights/4 cycling days at the house near Evora. The house was a great base. Lovely rooms, each with a different theme, comfortable lounge to meet & chat with other guests & a spacious dining room for breakfasts & dinners. The rides were a good mix of on & off road including a eco trail/rail trail. Destinations included a wine tasting, cork factory visit, carpet museum & cheese making visit.Plenty of variety.Breakfast buffet offered the same each day. There could be more variety. We had outdoor picnics on the nights we weren’t provided dinner. Enjoyed the pool after the ride on a hot day.

We did the 5 day, 4 night stay with three days of biking. Staying at the farmhouse was perfect for this part of our vacation. We had a lovely room with our own bathroom. Our room also had a door outside so we were able to access the grounds easily. We were treated so well by Dina and Jo at the house, and loved our visits with Theresa and her son Rodrigo who practiced his English with us. The food was always good and they accommodated the two vegetarians in our group.

The biking with our guide George was spectacular. We visited a cork factory, a carpet museum, a pottery factory, a cheese factory, a castle, and two wineries in the three days. The biking was a good challenge and included a variety of surfaces. The provided bikes were perfect for the terrain. We usually chose the longest routes, but options were always given if you wanted to bike less. George was a great guide who gave us so much insight into Portugal and the small towns and factories we visited. He kept a great pace for our group and was mindful of everyone’s abilities. Biking in a small group (4 people) with your own guide was such a pleasure and we are so glad we chose this tour.

I would definitely recommend Portugal Best Cycling to anyone looking to work with a local company within Portugal. They really were great!

We went hiking an cycling with Portugal Best Cycling from Evora. They were very well organized. Jorge was an excellent guide and very knowledgeable. I was a pleasure going with them. We would certainly use them again if we are in Portugal again in future.

Hi there,
I hope this finds you all very well. We have written a short summary of our Cycling in Paradise Tour in March which you are welcome to use in your newsletter. We had such a lovely time and hope to visit again!

Many thanks again,
Marcia & Richard
Scotland

Cycling in Paradise — March 2024
This was our first trip to Portugal and what a great way to be introduced to this beautiful country. We spent 6 days ‘Cycling in Paradise’ in late March, staying in the comfortable and relaxing farmhouse where we enjoyed relaxing on the deck under the cork tree in the afternoon, often joined by a friendly black lab or the resident cat. The breakfasts each morning were a perfect start to the day and we also had many of our evening meals at the farmhouse. The food was fresh and tasty and served by staff who couldn’t be more helpful.
On the first day, we travelled by bus from Lisbon and were collected in Evora by Mario and taken to the farmhouse. We were shown around the classic car museum, which is a must for anyone interested in cars in particular good old days of motoring. We then had a relaxing afternoon settling in. The following four days included a customised tour including 2 days self-guided and 2 days with guides. We used the bikes provided which were very comfortable and perfect for the terrain there.The self-guided tours were easy to follow and the app provided came with useful information. On our first self-guided day we visited Be Aromatic, a local farm specialising in growing herbs. We were shown around by Margarida and were treated to hot and cold drinks in a simple and beautiful setting in the potting area of the farm. We then made our way to Arraiolos where there was an excellent tourist information centre at the carpet musuem, which was very good value at 1 euro entrance fee. We were able to speak to 2 local women making carpets in the museum. After lunch in the square we visited the castle then raced to the Fita Preta winery where we had a 1h Kiss & Fly wine tasting, a must for anyone even remotely interested in wine. Next time we will spend more time there. One the second self-guided day we rode to Valverde via the roman villa, which was a route we enjoyed, in particular seeing the storks nesting on the church bell tower. In Valverde we stopped at the restaurant Laranjinha for coffee. Next time we will have a full meal there because it had a homely feel and the food looked great. We particularly enjoyed the off-road route from Valverde to Guadalupe via Anta Grande do Zambujeiro. In Guadalupe there was an excellent shop and visitors centre at the bottom of the climb up to Cromeleque dos Almendres (another must see). It was nice to be able to go at our own pace on those days. The guided tours with Mario were very special, though, and we learned so much about the areas we cycled through. We visited Pepe Aromas prickly pear farm and had an excellent lunch there, and in the afternoon, a cork processing yard and had an interesting and funny tour with the son of the owners. Cork was something that we had no idea about before we went to Alentejo but we had a new appreciation for it after the visit. The final cycling day was seeing the sights of Evora. We really appreciated the layers of history in the town and topped it off with a wine tasting at Evideira wine shop, served by Joana, who we recognised from working the farmhouse. On the whole, this is a really interesting and beautiful part of the world to explore, and the staff at Portugal Best Cycling were very friendly and helpful. We very much felt at home and would definitely like to return in the future.